[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Win some, lose some
But we are slowly improving.

Three more games played since my last report and we're coming off a series that has confirmed my confidence in the current group of players.

The worst first: Doug James. Our all-time great in the making has returned to practice, has been reported as 'probable' for a couple of game days now but once in the practice field, it became apparent: he's lost most of the power in his kicking leg. Other elements of his game appear to be still very good, aside from the kick holding that he wasn't going to do with Jon Giles (a kickholder and nothing but; remember that, staff!) on roster. Once he back to 100% we can make a new judgement on where we go between Doug James and Old Doug Guynes, until then we're not allowed to release him and switching back to James earlier would be a recipe for disaster, the kid deserves to not get rushed into action.

Second thing, the second game of the three we played. A home game against the Tucker Tigers, the team we love to hate and a team we're quite often throwing new stuff in our game plan to try and see what works and doesn't work against a team we're most likely going to lose to anyway. Except that we didn't this time and the result was an exciting game in Oranje Haven. In the end one big 73-yard catch and run made the difference, although Tucker's game winning drive to improve to 38-31 from a tied score was more impressive and didn't lean on a lucky play. So, we put up a fight, came back from 2 scores down, but at the end of the day we failed on fourth and one near midfield in the last chance drive and that was the end of it as the defense couldn't force one more change of possession in the last two minutes plus time outs.

So, where are the wins then? Well, before the Tucker home game, we rolled up the Harlem Apollos 24-6 in a near shutout in our place. The defense gave up only 182 total yards, including their final 78-yard drive that put them on the scoreboard.

The other win came at the Augusta Greenjackets, as we brought them back to earth (they had started 4-1 and are leading the AOC Southeast ahead of Tucker) with an overwhelming 44-23 defeat. Two missed field goals hardly mattered as we kept picking off their quarterback, combined with a fumble, for 6 turnovers in the second half alone. We took advantage of all those changes of possession, but aside from those were also quite impressive with 438 yards of total offense and an impressive kickoff returner to win the field position otherwise anyway.

European division:
1. Gothenburg 5-1
2. Bordeaux 3-2
3. Maassluis 2-3
4. Paris 2-3

Familiar sight? This is how it was last season. Complete with Bordeaux sitting as the virtual #6 seeds, except that Gothenburg is currently the virtual #1 seed after winning 30-26 at Tucker, seeing Augusta fall to us and the last undefeated AOC team, the Toronto Lake Monsters fall 29-7 in Atlanta, the surprise Deep South division leaders.

So, 2-3, with already 3 home games in the bag, that's not a good sign. On the other hand, we've played a tough schedule. Yes, they combined for only 16-13, but trust me, aside from the (no offense) unimpressive Harlem Apollos, we played strong opponents.

Earnest Ashley's sample size of 5 games has him on pace for another 4,000-yard season, with a 2:1 td:int ratio. Yes, his completion percentage is low, but we're forcing him to try and he does sport a 7.2 yards per attempt for it.

Our running back tandem Trey Beyer and Francisco Patter from last season has turned into a tricycle with the involvement of Jack Crane. Beyer gets roughly half the carries, with Patter and Crane about 25% each. That last guy's 5.11 yards per carry is quite good, although his third down tiny sample size, that don' impress me much.

The receiving side of the ball is once again the share of five guys. Theodore Bondy gets the most looks, Clay Gaynor makes the most catches, Ed Schulz has the awesome 10.8 yards per target, Clarence Gore the highest target percentage and catch percentage and George Stuckey has scored 50% of our receiving touchdowns. This is a great group, no doubt.

For the offensive line and defensive line the numbers of individuals are even more situation specific than those of the aforementioned guys, whom all are already also heavily influenced by situation, support cast, etc, etc.

Silly stat of the day, or perhaps the whole season so far: we had 6 interceptions against the Augusta Greenjackets, while we had none in the previous 4 games. Try to understand that. I won't, but that's how it goes at times.

Next up? Paris, at home. Week 7 and we're already starting to get a series of do or die games. Although quite frankly: if we want to go places, and actually think we're so good, we'll need to win at least 8 of the remaining 11 games. That's a lot to ask, but these last three games are a boost to the team confidence. Slow start, but things are improving and if we keep working hard, hopefully we get the reward we're seeking.